


Operation: T.R.A.G.E.D.Y.

by KingofMemes69



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: F/F, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26012797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingofMemes69/pseuds/KingofMemes69
Summary: Teen.Rachel.Abandons.Group.Escapes.Decommissioning.Yucky.When Rachel’s 13th birthday rolls around, it’s a solemn experience for everyone, yet Rachel is oddly peaceful. For what reason? Because she knows she’s going to be a teen spy of course! So when she decides to head into the decommissioning chamber to fake her decommissioning, Numbuh Infinity shows up and ruins her life by telling her that she really is going to get decommissioned.So Rachel does what she never wanted to do. She makes a run for it.Also Fanny finally found the courage to confess her love to Rachel. Better late than never right? Though it looks like Fanny will have another opportunity to have a chat with Rachel.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. Betrayal

The auditorium was filled with the screams and shouts of the thousands of Kids Next Door operatives who came to see Rachel off. As she blew out the candles on her birthday cake, she raised her fist in the air for one final farewell. 

“ **Kids Next Door** **_RULE!”_ ** roared Rachel, her voice carrying over throughout the entire assembly hall, reaching the ears of every Kids Next Door operative, no matter how far away they sat. All this without a microphone. Rachel poured her heart and soul into her last words, making sure every kid would remember her. 

Every operative in the room was shedding tears, the ones more closely related to Rachel taking it the hardest. The current operatives of sector V had to wipe away tears multiple times else it caused them to go blind. Fanny, Rachel’s closest friend, couldn’t stop bawling her eyes, her hands covered in tears from wiping her eyes so much, a puddle of water forming at her feet. Despite her job being to act stoic and to watch the room for any suspicious activity, she couldn’t focus on doing her job properly. It was just too sorrowful. 

Fanny walked towards Rachel, sniffling with every step she took. She met face-to-face with Rachel, their nose only a few centimeters away. Fanny’s face was an absolute wreck, with snot and tears smeared all over her face. Rachel couldn’t help but give a bitter smile, her eyes becoming watery just by looking at poor Fanny. Of all of the people in the room, nobody cared more about Rachel than Fanny did. Which only hurt her more.

“P-p-p-p-pl-please, R-R-Rachel, I-I-I-I n-need t-t-t-to t-t-t-tell you s-s-s-ometh-thing,” stuttered Fanny, her eyes were completely covered in tears, and it was hard for her to speak clearly from all the crying. Hiccups dotted her sentences, making it hard to understand. But not for Rachel, who may not have understood Fanny’s sentences, but she understood Fanny’s heart. 

“Fanny, you don’t have to say anymore. I love you too.”

Fanny’s eyes went wider than dinner plates, and her mouth opened wide like she was at the dentist’s office.

“Y-y-you k-k-knew?” Fanny choked out, her hands grasped into a tight ball, holding it close to her chest.

“I knew all along Fanny. I was just worried that if I told you, you would get too attached to me and would stop doing your job,” Rachel whispered, her eyes filling with tears from just talking with Fanny about this. “My only regret is that we never got to go out on a date. I’m sorry Fanny.”

“ **_Waaaaaaaah!”_ **

Fanny crumpled on the floor, her spirit was destroyed. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t even look at Rachel. All she could do was pound her fists against the floor and wail like a grieving mother. Her hands were bruising, and even blood started to spew out from the absolute beating she was giving herself, but she did not stop. And Rachel didn’t stop her either. All Rachel could do was turn around and walk away, but not before whispering one final “good bye.” 

Every kid in the room was taking it hard. Every kid, except for Rachel. She knew something that the kids in the auditorium did not. She knew that she was going to be a Teen Spy. Even if the rest of the kids would never see a kid Rachel ever again, the same couldn’t be said for her. And such knowledge gave Rachel peace. She wouldn’t have to part ways with the Kids Next Door. That was the true benefit of being a Teen Spy. 

Rachel made her way into the decommissioning room, where Numbuh Infinity and Numbuh 74.239 were waiting to ‘decommission’ her. 

She walked past the Numbuh 44 twins stationed at the door, crying their eyes out like every other kid. With one final tear-jerking salute, they opened the door and made way for Rachel to enter. Before making the last leg of her journey, she decided to give one more look back at the chaos. 

Fanny was still on the floor, tears streaming from her eyes and not looking like it was going to stop any time soon. Her hands were beaten raw and were covered in blood, her blood soaking through the floorboards. Operatives were all crowding around Fanny, trying to grab a hold of her hands to stop her from beating herself even more. Rachel was able to keep a calm composure for the most part during this announcement. Except at the end, when a single tear fell from Rachel’s eye. A single tear filled with regret. Regret for making Fanny lose her heart like that. But no matter. Fanny’s strong. She’ll get over it. She always does.

Rachel continued through the door. Once in, the door behind her closed with a silent thud, until all was quiet. Despite the door being made out of wood, the room was as quiet as a library. She couldn’t even hear Fanny’s loud sobs any longer. It was all quiet. 

Perhaps too quiet. 

The only noise that could be heard in the decommissioning chamber was the sound of Rachel’s footsteps as she slowly stepped towards the center of the room where the decommissioning seats are. 

“Alright, Number Infinity, Number 74.239, I’m here! What now?”

Rachel scanned the room, searching for any signs of movement, until she finally spotted something moving in the corner. It was Numbuh Infinity and Numbuh 74.239, coming out of the shadows. 

“Now? Why, it’s time for your decommissioning of course,” spoke Numbuh Infinity, his tone seemingly unfriendly than usual, something Rachel noticed immediately. He gestured towards the empty decommissioning seat.

“Uhh, I thought we were going to fake it? I don’t… I don’t have to sit in the chair to fake it right? Just do what you did with Maurice. Shine a bright light and then I’ll just go back through the door and pretend like I’m a dumb teen.”

“Yes, we did that for Maurice because he earned the right to become a Teen Spy,” said Numbuh Infinity, his eyes growing narrower. Numbuh 74.239 was standing to his side, impatiently tapping his foot like he had somewhere more important to be. 

“Wait, hold on, what do you mean he earned the right? Uhh, I… I earned the right too, didn’t I? We agreed on this plan last month.”

“Ah, that little chit-chat? I thought it was just small talk. And no, you did not  _ earn _ the right to be decommissioned,” spat Numbuh Infinity, emphasizing the word  _ earn _ harshly. “You made too many mistakes. Need I remind you of how the Kids Next Door was almost taken over by a disgusting adult? By Father?”

“That was just one mistake! And I swear, it won’t happen again!” begged Rachel, her arms flailing around like a maniac.

“Just  _ one _ mistake? It was possibly the biggest mistake that ever happened to the Kids Next Door! I don’t think you understood the gravity of that situation. Let me remind you again.  _ You. Almost. Let.  _ **_Father_ ** _. Take. Over. The. Kids. Next. Door.”  _ Numbuh Infinity enunciated every single word he said, spitting all over the place. Rachel could only cringe in embarrassment. She knew she made a huge mistake, but she put that all behind her, and so did every other operative! It was an honest mistake! She’s changed! She knows it. Though it looks like Numbuh Infinity and Numbuh 74.239 don’t believe it for a second.

“Now, Rachel, what are you waiting for? You’re the Supreme Leader, are you not? You’re supposed to be a good role model for all other operatives, right? So you should set an example for everyone else. And let yourself be  _ decommissioned _ .”

“Uhh, but I—”

“Will you just hurry up and sit in the darn chair already?” shouted Numbuh 74.239, getting more impatient by the minute. 

“Seriously, every other operative sat in the chair gracefully, like they’re supposed to. It’s in the KND rulebook, which you  _ do _ follow, right? The only other options are to become a Teen Spy, which you don’t meet the requirements for, or to defect and run away. But  _ surely _ you wouldn’t do that, would you?” sneered Numbuh 74.239, a smirk appearing on his face. It was like he was just  _ asking _ Rachel to defect. Numbuh Infinity stood there like a statue, no emotion showing. 

“Umm, uhh,” Rachel could do nothing but look around for anything that would give her a sign. A sign of something, anything at all. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen! She was supposed to become a Teen Spy, and help fight evil adult tyranny in secret! She wasn’t  _ actually _ supposed to be decommissioned. 

“Please, guys, you know me right? I’ve been part of the Kids Next Door for six years! Every day, I’ve worked so hard so we could make this place better for all kids!”

Numbuh Infinity could only shake his head in regret, “Please, ma’am, you’re embarrassing yourself. Though I suppose we’ll have to do this the hard way.” Numbuh Infinity snapped his finger and pointed at Rachel. “Grab her.”

Chad appeared right behind Rachel, appearing in through some strange booger teleportation technology that Rachel had never seen before. 

“Sorry Rachel, but this is for your own good.”

Rachel could only gasp in shock. She didn’t know where or how Chad was able to get in here, but she didn’t see many options left other than to try to plead with him. “Chad! Please, help me! You know what it’s like right? You ran away from the Kids Next Door because you yourself didn’t want to be decommissioned. Can’t you understand how I feel?”

“Ran away? Oh, that little fiasco? I didn’t run away from the Kids Next Door. I got a promotion, to the biggest title that you’ve never even heard of. A title  _ bigger and better  _ than being a Supreme Leader,” Chad said braggartly, a grin appearing on his face. “Now be a good little girly and get over here.”

Before Rachel could react, Chad grabbed onto her shoulder lightning fast and pulled her with all his might. Rachel had no weapons on her, and she was caught off guard. She pounded her free hand against Chad’s arm in the hopes that he’d let go, but to no avail. He was just stronger than her. He always had been. 

“No! Chad! Stop it, don’t do this!”

“Sorry girl, but I can’t disobey orders, can I?.”

Chad shoved Rachel into the chair and strapped her in tight. She struggled with all her might, but the restraints showed no sign of giving way. She could only sign in frustration, her hopes snatched away from her. 

Numbuh Infinity and Numbuh 74.239 were watching from a distance, Numbuh 74.239 still tapping his foot impatiently. 

“Hurry up and get this over with, we have more pressing matters to attend to,” said Numbuh 74.239 impatiently, not even bothering to look at the scene, more focused on his wristwatch. 

“Sorry Rachel, but it’s just how it goes. Say goodbye to your childhood! And hello to teenhood!.” However, before Chad could lower the plunger onto Rachel’s face and start the process, the large window burst open and in came a ship, flying at breakneck speeds for the decommissioning machine. It was hard to make out due to the speed it came crashing in, but if one paid close attention, one may have noticed the shiny, black, metal that coated the ship. Metal strikingly similar to the teens’ Battle Ready Armor. 

“Who the crud is that!” screamed Numbuh Infinity, the ship catching him, along with Chad and 74.239, by complete surprise.They did not foresee such an incident happening. 

The ship crashed into the machine, which caused it to blow up but not before launching Rachel out of her chair screaming. Chad got the worst of it, his hand was still in the machine trying to start it when it exploded. He screamed out in pain, clutching his hand from and whimpering on the floor. Infinity and 74.239 covered their faces from the shrapnel while Rachel stood up in shock. 

The window hatch of the motorcycle ship opened up, and out popped Numbuh 60’s head, commander of the Arctic Base, Patton Drilovsky. And in the pilot’s seat was none other than former Numbuh 11 of the Kids Next Door, Cree Lincoln.

“Rachel, hurry up and get in!  **Now!** ” Patton roared, stretching out his hand towards Rachel.

Stay with Chad or run towards Cree? She didn’t even need to think twice. She ran as fast as she could towards Patton’s extended hand. The second she grabbed it, Patton commanded Cree to get them the heck out of there, and Cree obliged, but not before looking at a cowering Chad, still gripping his injured hand. 

“Sorry we had to meet under such unfortunate circumstances, Chad. Don’t worry. I’ll be back for you later. So just hang in there.”

Patton pulled Rachel into the ship before the window hatch shut, and the ship flew out of there as quick as it arrived, before anyone knew what hit them.

“Chad, get out of here! Those kids in the room over are going to come barging in here any second thanks to all this commotion, and we can’t have them seeing you!” shouted Numbuh Infinity, a loud, commanding voice aimed at Chad.

“Yes sir!” Chad shouted back, before sticking his uninjured finger up his nostril and letting the green boogers cover his entire body, before it disappeared into the air, with Chad along with it.

The wooden door busted open, and in came the dozens of kids who were still in the auditorium, including Numbuhs 2 through 5 of Sector V and Fanny in the front. 

“What’s going on here! Where’s Rachel?” Fanny shouted, both of her hands bandaged up completely, from wrist to fingers, still so bloody that it was seeping through the gauze, the bandages turning a light red. 

Numbuh Infinity stepped forward, motioning his hands towards the broken window. “She betrayed us! You remember Chad Dickson right? Numbuh 274, the previous Supreme Leader? Well, Numbuh 362 betrayed us the exact same way! She had outside help! From  _ teenagers! _ ”

A gasp went out from all of the kids, and Fanny could only drop to her knees again in shock.

“Rachel? Betrayed us? That’s not possible, she would never do this!”

Now it was Numbuh 74.239 who stepped up. “Well, she did, and we have to stop her! Now the teens have two former supreme leaders, two Kids Next Door  _ traitors _ . If we don’t stop them, then it’s only a matter of time before they destroy us! They know all of our secrets. All of our bases. All of our weaponry and defenses and even important classified information! It was bad enough with one Supreme Leader traitor, but now with two? Even you all can see how terrible this is!”

Fanny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The only thought that was swimming through her mind was  _ how could Rachel betray the Kids Next Door? Betray Me? _

“Numbuh 86!” shouted Numbuh Infinity, pointing his finger at her while she was still kneeling. “As head of decommissioning, and as Global Tactical Officer, it is your duty, your mission, to find these traitors and bring them back here for immediate decommissioning. While you do that, the rest of us must decide on who is to be the next Supreme Leader. Do you hear me, Numbuh 86?”

Fanny slowly stood up and looked Numbuh Infinity dead in the eye, her mood turning sour with each passing second. “Don’t worry. I’ll get Numbuh 362 — Rachel back. I’ve got a few personal questions to ask her as well.”

Numbuh Infinity and 74.239 started escorting the other operatives back to their stations, while Numbuh 5 couldn’t help but be skeptical of Numbuh Infinity and 74.239, but she kept such skepticism to herself. 

While the other operatives started to disperse and head back to their stations, Fanny could only stare at the shattered window. She was going to get Rachel back, if it’s the last thing she does. This was only the beginning of a long and arduous journey, for both of them.


	2. A Bumpy Ride

Rachel gripped her head with her hands. Her forehead was throbbing, and she had a terrible headache. This day is just not going well for her.

She scanned her surroundings as best she could, doing her best to ignore the loud rumbling of the engine and the constant shaking hurting her head.

In the front was Cree Lincoln, piloting the ship. And that’s all she does. It's like she doesn't even know anyone’s in the ship with her.

Sitting next to Rachel is Numbuh 60, Patton Drilovsky, the commander of the Kids Next Door Arctic Base. So many questions were floating through Rachel’s mind, one of them being what the commander of the Arctic Base is doing at the Moon Base. Also, why is he with a teenager, the mortal enemies of all kids. Not to mention that teenager being Cree, one of the strongest and most notorious of them all.

Rachel peered through the window hatch, seeing nothing but the empty space filled with stars. She turned around in her seat, focusing her eyes on the Moon Base that was slowly disappearing in the distance. She couldn’t help but get a feeling that this might be the last time she’ll ever see the Moon Base again. So she made sure to soak in the solemn sight before it completely disappeared. 

Rachel couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t even an hour ago when she was blowing out her 13th birthday cake, watching all of the operatives cry for her departure. And now, she’s on the run from the Kids Next Door in a teen ship, with a teen operative. She’s turned traitor. She felt so lost, with no sense of direction. 

"Greetings, Numbuh 362 commander sir! Are you alright?" said Numbuh 60, poking her arm with his elbow to get her attention. 

Rachel sat there quietly for a time before responding back softly, "Yeah, I'm fine"

Patton could only give a frown. "Are you sure you're fine? Because you don't look so good. And I can't really fault you for—"

"No, I'm not fine!" Rachel exploded, her voice reverberating through the tiny ship, though Cree didn't seem to notice.

"How could you possibly think I could ever be fine after... after that?! I was about to be decommissioned for real! I'm stuck in a ship with a teenager, the worst teenager ever mind you! I've betrayed the Kids Next Door and now I'm probably labeled as a traitor! And I even made Fanny cry! I made her cry so, so much."

Rachel couldn't help but weep, tears forming in her eyes. “How could I possibly be fine Patton? How!"

Patton could only lower his head. He was taking a long time to come up with a response, one that would calm Rachel down.

"Well, I'm also a traitor too," Patton touched her arm and gave a warm smile. "Don't forget commander sir, you're not alone."

“Don't call me commander anymore," Rachel replied bluntly. "It's not my title now."

"You might not think so, but to me, you'll always be my superior, and always my commander. Though I suppose I can give you what you want just this once... Rachel."

Hearing Patton’s kind words helped brighten up her mood, and the ship even appeared to glow brighter. That is, until Cree butt in.

"Ugh, would you two please make out elsewhere? I just got my bike cleaned!"

Rachel turned away from Patton to focus on Cree. “Oh, I forgot you were here. Though it looks like you're a lot chattier now. Mind if I ask a few questions?"

"Ugh, fine! If it'll stop you brats from drooling all over my seats. But only one question!”

Cree seemed pretty moody, though she always was like that whenever they were fighting each other. Rachel seemed to have thought up a brilliant idea however.

“You smell really nice today.”

“Idiot, that’s not a ques— wait, do you really think so?”

“Of course! Did you just buy new perfume? Because it smells wonderful.”

“Yeah, I just bought new perfume just yesterday! I thought it smelled really nice. I’m glad a girl like you appreciates good perfume, unlike that brat of a sister I have.”

“Why wouldn’t I appreciate it? Especially since you went through all that trouble making yourself look good. How much time did you spend picking out clothes this morning?”

Rachel and Cree continued their girly talk, and all Patton could do was lean over and play possum.  _ Ugh, girl talk. Why! Make it stop! _

“You know Rachel, you’re not so bad for a little brat.” After all that girl talk was over, it seemed like Cree and Rachel just became new best friends, despite their long history of being enemies.

“Well, if you want to take it literally, I  _ am  _ 13 years old now, so technically I’m a teenager like you.”

Cree thought about it for a second, before nodding in approval. “Yeah, you are a teen. Well, you’re quickly becoming my favorite teen then! You know, you remind me of Chad when he first became a teen, before… nevermind. Anyways, you said you wanted to ask some questions?”

Rachel could tell that the subject about Chad was a bit of a touchy one, so she decided to ignore it for now. 

“Does this mean you don’t hate kids anymore?”

Cree held her hand up to her chin, giving off the impression that she was thinking long and hard about the question. 

After a while, she responded, "Still hate their guts. Though I hate you a little bit less, I suppose."

_ Well, that’s slightly good to know… I think. _

“So, how did you and Number 60 meet?”

“Hmm, well, long story short, we figured out we had a common enemy, we found each other again during our next missions, and instead of fighting each other like we usually do, we decided to call a truce. I don't particularly like the boy, but sometimes you just need to do what you have to do. And the rest is history."

Rachel turned to look at Patton, and he nodded back, agreeing with everything Cree said.

“So, why me?”

"As much as I hate to admit it, the teens need someone of your brain caliber. Most operatives, like myself and Chad, are really only good at fighting, though, and I don't mean to brag," Cree gave a slight chuckle. She definitely means to brag, "we're  _ really _ good at fighting, but you, you always were a cut above the rest when it came to wisdom and leadership.

"We were going to just watch you get decommissioned and then try to poach you to join our ranks like we usually do, but with this situation unfolding on us right now, we couldn't risk letting you be decommissioned and turning into a complete idiot.”

Cree then turned her head and glanced in Rachel’s direction. "And looking at you now, I can safely say that it was the right call."

Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but Rachel could have sworn that Cree winked at her.

“So, any other questions for me girl?”

“No, I think that’s mostly everything. “

Cree returned to focusing on piloting the ship, while Rachel turned to face Patton. 

“Can I ask you a few questions now, Number 60?”

Patton could give out a sigh while staring out of the window.

"Geez, where do I even begin. I think Numbuh 11 answered most of the questions pretty well, but if you have some more, just go ahead and hit me."

Rachel obliged, taking Patton’s request quite literally and playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just happy that I get to see a friendly face."

Patton had his mouth hanging open, but quickly turned it into a smile. "I'm happy I could make you happy, commander sir."

"How did you know to find me here?"

"That's a silly question, don't you think? It's the Supreme Leader's 13th birthday. What kind of operative wouldn't know where you'd be?"

Patton looked at Rachel and studied her face for a second. "Though I suppose that's not really the answer you wanted. Well, as for  _ why _ we decided to come get you in particular, well, you're the supreme leader, not to mention you're one of the smartest operatives of our time, if I do say so myself. We really need your brain to help us solve this case, and there was no way we were going to let anyone decommission you. Even if it meant betraying the Kids Next Door to do so.

"She might not say it, but Numbuh 11 does acknowledge your importance as well. That's why she agreed with me to help get you out."

"Only for you though!" shouted Cree. "I wasn't going to let any other snot-nosed brats into my ride, even if they were begging me."

Rachel thought long and hard to herself. Most of her questions were answered, though one thing was bugging her.

“You do know that this makes you a traitor, right Number 60?”

"I could ask you the same thing, commander sir. Aren't  _ you _ supposed to follow the rules and be decommissioned, since you're Supreme Leader and all?"

Rachel didn’t know what to say. Patton was completely right. Why didn’t she just let herself be decommissioned? 

“Uh, I…”

"Don't worry about it," Patton reassured. 

Patton looked into Rachel’s eyes for a moment. It looked like he wanted to say something, but decided at the last minute to just stay quiet. Though Rachel was perceptive enough to pick up on it.

"What is it? Was there something you wanted to say, Number 60? I’m open to any concerns.”

Patton looked around the tiny ship, as if he was making sure he wasn't being watched. When he felt safe, he leaned in closer and whispered into Rachel’s ear, "I completely understand the feeling of not wanting to be decommissioned. To be perfectly honest, I never liked such a rule anyways. What's the big difference between someone who's 12 years and 364 days old, and someone who's 13 years and zero days old? I don't understand why they would suddenly become our enemy.

"Kind of like you. Even if you grew up, I just could not imagine you fighting against kids." Patton winked at you and gave you a smile, "I think if it was my 13th birthday, I would have ran away too."

Rachel couldn't help but like Patton more and more. 

"Thanks, Number 60. That's reassuring to know," Rachel smiled back. 

The ship was quickly approaching Earth, which had never looked bigger and brighter and bluer than before. Rachel didn’t bother to look back at the moon. No point thinking about the past. Now it's time to move forward.

In the time spent on the ship, talking with Numbuh 60, commander of the Arctic Base, along with Cree Lincoln, mortal enemy of all kids everywhere, Rachel felt like they’ve been in space for hours. Yet the ride from the Moonbase to Earth only took around five minutes, even faster than usual since they were on a speedy ship.

In all the time that has passed from potentially the last journey from the Moonbase to Earth, Rachel’s mind wandered to many different places.

_ What went wrong? Why did they lie to me? Am I really a bad person for not wanting to be decommissioned? _

So many thoughts floating through her mind. And all those thoughts instantly disappeared when Patton decided to speak up. 

"Well, we're almost there. Commander sir, do you feel ready? Not tired or aching or anything?"

Rachel’s body certainly was a bit sore thanks to that explosion in the decommissioning chamber, but she decided not to mention it.

“Nope. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. So, where exactly are we going anyways?"

"KND Arctic Base of course."

"Arctic Teen Hideout."

Cree and Patton looked at each other in disbelief before getting into a shouting match.

"Well, obviously the commander and I aren't going to just wander into a place filled with teens!" Patton shouted. "Two kids to one teen, we've got the majority vote, and I say we head to Kids Next Door Arctic Base!"

"What about me? You think I'm going to walk into a base filled with a bunch of brats? Puh-lease! And besides, I'm the one piloting this ship! And I say we're going to the Arctic Teen Hideout!"

Both of them looked straight at Rachel, as if waiting for an answer.

"So? You agree with me right? Only course of action is to head to KND Arctic base!"

"No way! Arctic teen hideout! Say it, girl!"

It's obvious that both of them wanted Rachel to agree with them, yet Rachel could only choose one. And it doesn't look like they're the kind of people to agree with a third option. If anything, if Rachel even mentioned a third option, it would likely blow a fuse in both of them.

Of course, Patton was right. The obvious answer is to head to KND Arctic Base. 

"As Kids Next Door Supreme Leader, I order you to take us to Kids Next Door Arctic Base.”

"Yes commander sir! Hear that, Numbuh 11? You heard the Supreme Leader! Take us down to KND Arctic Base, now!"

"How do I know you're not just going to cuff me once I step foot in the base?" Cree screamed back at Rachel and Patton.

One could feel the tension in the air between Patton and Cree, and so Rachel decided to step in between to calm them down.

"Don't worry," Rachel said reassuringly. "As Kids Next Door Supreme Leader, I vow that not a single Kids Next Door operative will touch you there, as long as you behave of course. Seeing as how you and Number 60 are mortal enemies, yet you managed to put your differences aside to join forces against the greater evil, then please understand that for right now, we aren't enemies. We really are trying to help everyone, and I’ll do my best to solve this case, whatever it is. You have my word, Cree Lincoln.”

Cree went quiet for a while before letting out a deep sigh and slumping down into her chair.. "Alright fine. But the moment I see any suspicious activity, I'm bailing and this temporary truce is off. And please, just call me Cree. You sound way too formal. Ugh."

"Alright, looks like this matter is settled! Now then," Patton moved closer to Cree, leaning on her seat. "I'm entering the Arctic Base coordinates into your GPS. I've already told security that we're friendly. It should be smooth sailing.

"Whatever. Just let me pilot," Cree said back. 

The ship finally entered the Earth's atmosphere, right above Antarctica, the snowy and freezing land appearing below. Patton smiled at Rachel in approval, but returned to looking out of the window.

In the distance, one could just make out the very small Christmas tree in the middle of an empty tundra, but Kids Next Door operatives know that it hides a big secret underneath.

The ship dived lower and lower until it plunged right into the snow, and instead of crashing into the ground, it slipped through a hidden entrance invisible from the surface.

Welcome to the Kids Next Door Arctic Base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I’m actually continuing the story! What a surprise! So if you’ve been active on the KND discord, then you might have seen that I was working on a CYOA KND game, with the plot being the same as this. Buuuuut I stopped because it turns out working on a CYOA game all by yourself is really friggin difficult and time-consuming. It’s much easier to just write a linear story than non-linear stories.
> 
> Fun fact, I wanted you to be able to choose between going to the KND Arctic Base and the Arctic Teen Hideout. But I scrapped that because I got tired.
> 
> It’s certainly fun, don’t get me wrong, but takes way too much time. Anyways, I do plan on continuing this story. I’m not sure how many words I’ll make the entire episode. Judging by how long the previous part was and how long this part is, I’m looking at maybe… 10-15k words? Not that long, but definitely longer than all my simple one shots. 
> 
> Again, if you see any mistakes, like if it’s accidentally in second person (it was in second person for the CYOA game, but I changed it back to third person for fanfiction), or if there’s any spelling/grammar mistakes, please let me know!
> 
> Have a great day!


	3. The A-Antibody

The ship landed onto the landing pad gracefully, and the moment it touched down, it seemed like a bajillion spotlights shined down on the ship.

There weren't that many Kids Next Door operatives in the Arctic Base as usual, with the vast majority of them having flown to the Moonbase to wish Rachel a happy 13th birthday. However, the few that were remaining, a dozen or so, surrounded the ship, all aiming mustard guns, hot sauce guns, and whatever other weapons at the ship. Defense turrets along the wall opened up, and pointed straight at the ship where Rachel, Patton, and Cree were in. Such was to be expected. Kids were given enough wedgies and noogies and spankings from teenagers that no more chances were taken.

Numbuh 40 to Life, warden of the KND Arctic Base, stepped forward, megaphone in hand.

"Ahem," he said, speaking into the megaphone. "Please step out of the ship with your hands in the air where we can see them. You have 20 seconds to comply or we cover you in condiments until you’re all red and yellow!”

Cree turned to look at Rachel, "Well, what are you waiting for, Miss Supreme Leader? You should probably head out first. If I stick my head out there, I'm getting shot with so much mustard that it'll take me weeks to clean it out of my hair."

Rachel nodded, and was about to hop out of the ship when Patton put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on commander sir. Let me head out first, I’ll calm the nerves of my subordinates. Then you can come out, and Cree will head out last when they're all fully pacified.”

The ship opened up its tinted window, and Patton hopped out of the ship and landed on his feet in front of the Warden.

"Alright, listen up! I want you all to put down your weapons, now! This is a direct order from Numbuh 60, your commander!"

A gasp went out through all of the operatives when they saw and heard their commander's loud voice. Almost half of them immediately dropped their weapons on the floor, while the rest quickly lowered it, slowly loosening their grip on their weapons.

The warden stepped forward towards Patton.

"Commander Numbuh 60, sir, where have you been? And why did you bring a teen’s ship with you? You were supposed to help watch over the Arctic base with me while most of our operatives went to Numbuh 362's 13th birthday party!"

Patton shook his head and waggled his finger at the warden.

"You mean, this Numbuh 362?"

Rachel jumped out of the ship upon hearing Patton’s callout, and landed right next to Patton.

"At ease, operatives!" Rachel yelled out, giving them all a big salute. 

An even louder gasp went out through the crowd this time, and even the warden fell backwards onto his butt in disbelief, dropping his megaphone on the floor.

"Numbuh 362, commander sir ma'am! What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in the Moonbase? Isn't it your 13th birthday?"

"Yes, it is. Is there a problem?" Rachel gazed at the warden, looking straight in his eye until he turned away, losing this game of chicken. She then glanced around at the rest of the operatives, every single one of them turning away from her gaze.

Patton coughed loudly to get the attention of the operatives "Please understand that Rachel is still your Supreme Leader, no matter what the circumstances may be. I can personally vouch for her. And I know all of you still believe in her."

"That's right," Rachel followed up. "I might be 13, but I still care about the Kids Next Door as much as you all do. I've been Supreme Leader for how long now? And you’ve all known me to have a great track-record since the day I joined the Kids Next Door. What difference is one day going to make, really? When I help finish solving this problem and we get back to our normal lives, then I'll sit down and let myself be decommissioned like usual. But until then, I'm going to help the Kids Next Door, even if I have to do it while I'm a teen."

The kids in the room all looked at each other, some of them nodding in agreement while a few others just looked lost, including the warden.

He stood up and dusted off his butt before turning to look at her.

"Of course, Numbuh 362 commander sir. It's not that I don't  _ believe _ you but... what exactly is the problem you need to solve? Command hasn’t sent out any warnings, and the Arctic Base has been as quiet as a mouse."

Rachel turned to Patton for answers. After all this time spent in the ship with Patton and Cree, she  _ still _ didn’t know what the exact problem was. All she managed to figure out is that Cree and Patton are now temporarily working together in order to stop some new enemy, and they busted her out of the Moonbase so she could lend a helping hand before she got decommissioned. That’s all she knew.

Patton looked back, understanding the look of confusion on Rachel’s face, before he snapped his fingers, "Well, it looks like it's time to introduce you all to another surprising face. And please, do  **not** panic."

This time, it was Cree who jumped out of the ship, her Battle Ready Armor fully activated. She looked like she was ready to kick the butt of every kid there.

"It's a teenager!"

"It's Cree! Shoot her!"

"Runnnn! She's going to give us all wedgies!"

Patton quickly raised his hands up and roared, "Shut up!" All of the operatives were panicking, including the warden, but they immediately stopped in their tracks upon hearing Patton's commanding voice.

"Look, I'm not a big fan of it too. And Cree doesn't like it as much as you guys. But now is the time for us to settle our differences and work together, at least for now! We've got a huge problem, bigger than us kids and the teens combined! I dare say it's even bigger than the adults! We have to work together if we want to stop this menace. Once it's all over, we'll go back to normal, kicking teen butt and locking evil adults up in prison."

Patton then turned to face Cree, “And the kids would be a lot more trusting of you if you didn’t wear your armor like you were going to fight them.”

Cree only scoffed before turning off her Battle Ready Armor. Once she did, the concern on the kids’ faces quickly vanished thanks to Patton's pep-talk, and some of them were even waving at Cree, much to her annoyance. 

"Alright!" Patton continued. "I need every operative here, besides the warden, to return to your stations! Especially the ones manning the radars, I need you to be extra vigilant! I have a feeling we'll be meeting some friends of ours very soon. If you see  _ anything _ appear on your radar, you are to inform me immediately! _ Especially _ if it’s allied aircraft! Am I understood?"

"Yes commander sir!"

Most of the operatives quickly went back to their duties, which mainly consisted of monitoring the prison and the halls, and manning the defensive turrets. The number 39 twins who were in charge of watching the Antarctica air space were left a little bit befuddled as to why they were told to keep a close eye on allied aircraft, but didn’t bother questioning orders from Numbuh 60.

When the room dispersed and it was just Patton, Cree, Rachel, and the warden, 40 to Life, Patton turned to the rest of the group. "Numbuh 40 to Life, commander sir, please follow me. I think it's about time Cree and I tell you exactly what we know."

The four of them made their way into the large elevator. There was plenty of room for all of them to have breathing room, as the elevator was made for dozens of kids mobilizing quickly across the entire treehouse. 

They rode the elevator down in awkward silence. The warden was standing next to Patton, eyes forward, looking stern as a brick wall. Patton was at the front of the elevator, hands in pocket and looking directly at the door. Cree was in the corner of the elevator, staring straight at Rachel, like she was an exotic animal in a zoo. And Rachel, she was looking down at her feet, lost in deep thought.

When the elevator chimed and the door opened, the four of them stepped out and made their way down the hall, the very last door being the door to Patton's office. The door was just a thick piece of wood, heavy like a tree as well. Bringing out his key, he opened the multitude of locks on it. One at the very top, three in the middle, and one at the very bottom. Patton does  _ not _ like being disturbed.

When the door finally opened, they all entered, and Patton proceeded to relock the door. The room was extremely bland, save for the office chair and desk in the middle. The walls were plain brown, and the floor was spotted tiles, mostly black with white and red dots here and there. There weren't even any extra chairs for other people to sit on. 

Patton sat down on the only chair in the room, his chair, while the other three were left standing. Reaching down, he opened a drawer and pulled out a file and set it on his desk.

Cree stood in the corner of the room, hands crossed. Rachel and 40 to Life were standing in front of Patton's desk, front and center. 

"Now, Cree and I already know everything that's happening currently. Warden 40 to Life, commander sir, I don't think I need to say this, but I will. Whatever is said in this room does  **not** leave this room. We will be some of the very few people who know about this information. Cree has already told a select few of her closest teen comrades about this as well."

Patton opened up a file and pulled out a few photographs, one of them being a blurry picture of what looked like to be three people. Two of the members were standing and one of them was kneeling in front of them. What's strange is that the two members appeared to be covered in some green substance. It looked oddly familiar. 

"Do you remember the last time we tried to make peace with the teens, but they decided instead to play ear-shattering music?” the three kids looked straight at Cree, who only just shrugged. How could they forget? It wasn’t that long ago. “I was able to quickly take a shot of this strange moment. Commander sir, did you happen to have seen anything that looked like this?

Yes, she has. She’s certain that it's that same booger-technology she saw Chad use when she was about to be decommissioned. 

Patton only studied Rachel’s face for a second before coming to a swift conclusion. "So you have seen it. I figured. Look at this closely, can you make out who the people are in the photo?"

Rachel leaned in closer to get a better look, a scowl quickly forming on her face.

"Number 1, Number 274, and Number Infinity..."

"Precisely. So now do you understand why we've formed a temporary truce with the teens?"

Rachel nodded in acknowledgement. However, a few questions were still bothering her. "Do you even know what they plan on doing? Maybe you guys are just overthinking this whole thing."

"That's what I thought at first too, but then I remember that Numbuh Infinity is always hanging out with Numbuh 74.239, one of the higher ranking KND scientists. So I managed to sneak into Numbuh 74.239's room. I didn't find anything at first, but after a bit of snooping, I was able to snap a photo of this thing hidden in the crack between his desk and the wall.

"We wouldn't have teamed up unless the situation really was dire." Patton proceeded to pull out another photo, this time a picture of what looked to be a blueprint of a so-called ‘A-Antibiotic’.

Rachel couldn't really make heads or tails of what this thing is supposed to be. She’s a Supreme Leader, not a scientist!

“So… what is this thing?”

"I wasn't too sure either at first when I saw this, so I took it to a scientist here that I fully trust, and from looking at the whole schematic, he believes it stands for  _ Adult-Antibiotic. _ "

"Which does what exactly?"

"It makes anybody over the age of 12 disappear.  **_Forever._ ** "

Upon hearing Patton utter those vile words, the room fell eerily quiet. Rachel could only stand there with an open mouth in shock, and even the stoic warden was looking very queasy.

_ This must be the work of the splinter cell! I knew they were bad but I didn’t know they were so… so evil! _

"That's absolutely insane," Rachel whispered to herself, but thanks to the isolated room, it was loud enough for everyone to hear, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"It is," replied Patton. "I think I speak for a lot of us kids that we don't particularly like adults or teenagers, but a device that just gets rid of  _ all _ of them? For pete's sake, that's too far! Way too far! And what's worse is that this isn't your normal antibiotic, like in a pill or capsule. No, this is a gas! They're planning on pumping this stuff into the atmosphere and eliminating every single teen and adult on the planet in one fell swoop! Once a teen or an adult takes even the tiniest whiff of this gas, their bones and skin will disintegrate into ash, which will blow away in the wind!”

"Well, now you understand why we have to work together, huh?" Cree finally spoke up, breaking the thick tension in the room. "Look, I don't really want to work together with you brats, but it's either this, or I disappear forever, and I don't really want that. Also, just to make this clear for you, girly, you  _ are _ 13 years old. Which means if that device goes off, then you also go poof. I don't think you'd want that, would you?"

Rachel could only hang her head low, "...no, I wouldn't."

"Good. So let's figure out a way to put a stop to this device before it gets built, and then afterwards, I can go back to giving all you brats wedgies, just like how it’s supposed to be."

The moment after Cree finished her speech, a monitor pulled up out of Patton's desk, the Numbuh 39 twins appearing on screen.

"What's the issue, Numbuh 39 and 39? I'm in the middle of a very,  _ very  _ important meeting!" shouted Patton at the screen, gripping his hands on the desk.

"Commander sir! You told us to contact you if we spotted anyone in our airspace, including friendlies! Well, we have visual on friendlies! They just entered our airspace and are moving towards us!”

"Alright, how many airships?"

The Numbuh 39 twins looked at each other as they held up their fingers. "Uhh... we're not sure. We ran out of fingers."

Patton looked at Rachel and the others, the same look of concern plastered on their faces. 

This time the warden spoke up, but quietly this time, "Maybe they're coming back from the birthday party on the Moonbase?"

"...our landing pads only fit 15 ships," replied Patton.

"Well... this isn't good."

Patton turned to Rachel, worry visible in his eyes. "Well, I don't think I need to tell you what this means. They probably figured out that we fled here, and they ended up sending every single operative that was at the Moonbase to us. And since pretty much every operative went to the Moonbase for your 13th birthday, that means every single operative is going to converge on this location."

The Numbuh 39 twins piped up again, "Commander sir, we tried counting again, but with our toes too... we also ran out of toes."

This moment was not looking very good.

“Move over!” Rachel quickly pushed Patton out of the way and resumed her rightful position as Supreme Leader. “Number 39 and 39, how much longer until those ships reach here?”

“Uhh, should be about 5 minutes if they keep up their current speed, commander sir ma’am!” they said in unison, like most twins do.

“Darn! So little  **time!** ” Rachel shouted, slamming her fist on the desk in frustration. She was doing her best trying to figure out what to do about this situation when Cree walked over and pointed her phone at Rachel.

“Girl, you might want to check this out. It’s a message from your new Supreme Leader. Oh, and don’t ask me how I got this.”

“What? What do you  _ mean _ , new Supreme Leader?  _ I’m  _ the Supreme Leader!”

All four of them crowded around Cree’s phone, watching the message.

“Attention, all Kids Next Door operatives! This is Numbuh Infinity, your  _ new _ Supreme Leader! As most of you have already heard, our previous Supreme Leader, Numbuh 362, Rachel T. McKenzie, has betrayed the Kids Next Door and sided with our mortal enemies, the teenagers! Look at this!” A cropped video of Rachel jumping into the teen ship with Numbuh 60 and Cree was now showing on screen. Of course, it didn’t tell the full story, as it made sure to hide Numbuh Infinity, 74.239, and Chad off screen. The screen then changed back to Numbuh Infinity.

“Yes, you saw that correctly! That was our former Supreme Leader, along with Numbuh 60, Patton Drilovsky, commander of the Arctic Base, in a ship with Numbuh 11, Cree Lincoln, another traitor who I’m sure most of you have been unfortunately acquainted with. They have all escaped and have ran away to the Arctic Base! All sectors, you are to ignore your current duties and head directly for the Arctic Base! You are to assume that any operatives in that Arctic Base has sided with the enemy! Capture any and all Arctic Base personnel, find those traitors, and bring them back to the Moonbase! This is an order from your Supreme Leader! Kids Next Door rules!”

After his speech was over, the screen went dark, and Cree put the phone back into her back pocket. Rachel was seething.  _ Numbuh Infinity has the nerve to call himself the Supreme Leader?! After that stunt he did?! _

Patton put his hand on Rachel’s shoulder to get her attention, “Commander sir, what are your orders, sir?”

Rachel stood up straight, a mean glint in her eyes. She was not going to let this slide.

“Activate the treehouse defenses, set them to fire on any friendly ships and ignore teen ships.”

The warden quickly spoke up, “But commander sir, are you hearing yourself right now? These are friendly ships you’re asking us to shoot down! They’re fellow kids!”

“Did you not hear what that message said? They’re planning on capturing every operative here and decommissioning them, even when they have done nothing wrong. I can’t let that happen. After this is all over, I’ll send out a formal apology for any damages and injuries our fellow operatives received. But it’s a small price to pay to prevent any wrongful decommissioning.

“Number 60, I want you to tell your operatives to activate the defenses.  _ All of them. _ The Arctic Base has some of the top-of-the-line security out of all of the tree houses, even comparable to the Moon Base. It’ll buy us a lot of time, and we need every single second we can get.”

“Yes commander sir!”

“Cree, you mentioned a teen hideout closeby? I want you to head there and gather up as many allies as you can and bring them here. Along with your strongest weapons and ships. This treehouse will be set to not fire on your guys’ ships, so make sure to pass the message.”

“Oh man, I get to beat up a bunch of brats,  _ and _ with permission from the Supreme brat herself? You don’t need to ask me twice. But hold on just a second, I’d love to beat up brats as much as the next teen, but what about this A-Antibody? We can’t be wasting time fighting when we should be figuring out a way to stop this device!”

“Don’t worry about it for now. I may not know a lot of sciency-stuff, but I’ve seen enough tech blueprints to assume that it’s still in the middle of its construction. It’s not actually built yet. We need to first prevent any operatives from getting decommissioned and make sure we don’t get captured, and also figure out a way to sway these kids back on our side. Then we can worry about Numbuh Infinity, 74.239, and the A-Antibody.”   
  


“Alright, well I suppose I’ll trust your judgement. The next time you guys see me, it’ll be in the front of an army.”

“Good, that’s what I’d like to see.”

Patton unlocked the door as quick as he could, and he and Cree both bolted towards the elevator as fast as possible. Time is of the essence.

“Warden 40 to Life, take me to the prison. We’re going to need all the help we can get. This is going to get messy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up, and it’s about to get spicy next chapter! Don’t miss it! Anyways, I’m sure most of you know, college is starting up again. Which means I’m going to be busy. I’ll try to find time to continue writing, and I especially want to finish up this story. But expect longer waits.
> 
> Again, if you see any mistakes, either the characters are OOC or there’s grammar/spelling mistakes or if you just want to say thanks, then please leave a review! I greatly appreciate them all. Thanks for reading this story!

**Author's Note:**

> What a ride! But you ain’t seen nothing yet! This is just a prologue of what’s to come!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like it. I decided to take matters into my own hands and explore what G:KND could possibly be, since sadly it’s unlikely that G:KND would ever get officially made. You know me though, I’m really lazy. So don’t expect frequent updates to this story. I’ll still be working on various one-shots here and there when I find some cool ideas, but in the meantime, I’ll catch you all later!
> 
> Again, if there’s any spelling/grammar mistakes, please call them out in the reviews so I can edit it! Thanks!


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